The Paleo Diet Study

The media continually creates buzz around the latest diets, especially when it comes to weight loss. Currently under the spot light at the moment is the Paleo Diet, where one eats more like our ancient ancestors by cutting out processed foods, starch (including grains) and sugar. Then eats a much more natural diet with good sources of fat, protein and veg with some fruit.

I’ve been eating like this for years and if people want to call it a Paleo Diet then that’s fine by me. The problem is, when people begin to label a way of eating like Paleo Diet or Caveman Diet, it can be easy to assume it’s a fad and can be ignored or dismissed immediately.

When eating a paleo style diet, you’ve already cut out the gluten so your diet is gluten free. Along with this, the foods you are now eating do not stimulate blood sugars levels so you produce much less insulin. In my mind, over production of insulin is one of the main contributors to speed up the aging process and chronic diseases.

A recent article in the SMH said this:

A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that after only 10 days on a paleo diet, subjects had physiological and metabolic benefits that included reduced blood pressure, lower levels of total cholesterol and lower insulin secretion after ingestion of glucose. If continued it would reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In another three-month study, the paleo diet improved glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with type 2 diabetes, compared with a conventional diabetes diet. The diet also has anti-inflammatory benefits thanks to high levels of mono-unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids.

If you are wanting to embrace a more Paleo Diet based lifestyle, do your homework first so you fully understand the concepts thoroughly. Combine this with an exercise routine and you are onto a winning strategy in my view. You don’t have to train like an Olympian… Just start!